2012 Toyota Prius Consumer Reviews
Most Helpful Reviews
Positive Review
Straight of the dealers lot the car averaged about 46mpg. With a few mild driving adjustments, I regularly average 50-53mpg. It will be hard to ever think of a car without radar adaptive cruise control again. What a relief to set the cruise control during commute hours and let the car adjust speed or brake when necessary! This feature takes all the stress out of my 45 minute commute. We are particularly pleased with the amount of room inside the car. The backseat can hold a larger person with ample legroom and headroom. When the seats fold down, we can haul quite a load. I put 18 bankers boxes in the back when I recently moved my office. For a utilitarian hybrid, the car also handles quite well. I have been in a couple emergency braking situations where the radar kicks in and stops the vehicle, or have needed to maneuver quickly to avoid collision. In both cases the car reacted as desired.
VS
Critical Review
I would recommend this Vehicle only and if only you forget everything in a car and focus on just one feature: MILES PER GALLON - MPG. Here are the main issues after about 4,700 miles. MPG steadily going down. It started at around 50 to 51 mpg average. Highest I registered over 108 miles once was 54.6mpg with super conservative driving on flat freeways. Was never able to duplicate this mpg since then. It is impossible to maintain over 51 mpg on a regular basis in Southern California where you have to keep up with the freeway traffic. Over the summer I was averaging around 50.6 mpg. In the last two months I am averaging around 46 to 47 mpg, (Lower than EPA estimates of 48 to 50 mpg) My driving habits have not changed, My routes have not changed and the brand of gasoline is the same. Just the weather is cooler but not cold near 50 F. During the First month my range on a tankful of gasoline was between 580 to 590 miles (about 12 gallons) On my last fill up my on board computer estimated range has dropped to 530 miles. The car makes creeking sounds from the rear plastic panels when I slow down to park. This is unacceptable for a vehicle priced over $23K. It started making this noise from day one. I consider this a defect not a feature. Noise is inconsistent. Other rattles in plastic panels may come and go. The car does not feel steady, solid and reassuring on the freeway. Steering feedback is vague. I feel every major bump, and the car is rather noisy over 60 mph. In Economy Mode you will always feel the need for more power. However when you Press the Power Mode, the car flies and you will reach 80 mph rather quickly at the expense of lower mpg. I have kept it on ECO mode over 90% of the time. You can also drive the car in Non Eco and Non Power Mode, This is called "Regular Mode" and it has decent power The engine does rev up and get noisy on Power Mode acceleration, however it is not annoying. The Electric Vehicle Mode (EV mode) is a complete joke. The car will kick out of EV Mode under 18 mph within 500 feet. So with the present Battery Pack, the EV mode is just a marketing Ploy. The new hybrid Lexus 250H has the same EV Mode. The Car has plenty of room front and rear, limited luggage space under the hatch. Visibility is limited and annoying when changing lanes, especially with all the seat head rests on the passenger seat and the rear seats. The rear view mirror shows the dividing rear spoiler at all times. The rear spoiler should have been color matched with the rest of the vehicle as in the 2009 Prius. Instead, Toyota used a black plastic spoiler on all the 2010 models. This ruins the elegant lines and style of the car. The middle Console divider takes too much space and limits knee room for the driver. The Seat contour is below average and does not quite feel right no matter what position I set the height or the back of the seat. Steering wheel adjustments are very useful The Green uni-Color or monochrome Dashboard display is a real disappointment. It shows a lack of creativity on the part of Toyota engineers when it comes to dashboards. You can't distinguish mpg meter from Fuel level based on color. When you run low on fuel, no red light comes on and no recurring sound reminders are heard. The HYBRID display portion is user unfriendly and confusing to navigate through. It works as a rollodex that moves only forward from one display to another. Interior Cloth material is subpar and does not appear snuggly fit around the seats Creeses appear here and there, be prepared to use seat covers. The 2009 PRIUS Cloth feels of higher quality than the 2010. I've compared the mpg with a friend's 2009 PRIUS. The latter is averaging between 45 and 46 mpg. Mileage improvement over the 2009 Prius is minimal, however the 2010 has much more torque for acceleration. The annoying hybrid sounds of the 2009 Prius have almost disappeared in the 2010 model. They are still there, but much less frequent and less intrusive. I analyzed the numbers based on $3 gasoline per gallon and 15,000 miles of driving per year. Compared to a Toyota Matrix that can be purchased at a reasonable discount below MSRP, you have to drive the PRIUS II eight to nine years before you recoup the extra cost in gasoline savings over the lower Price of the Toyota Matrix at 29mpg vs the supposed 50mpg for the Prius. During this period you have to hope that your Hybrid Battery Does actually Fail in order for it to be replaced under the 10 Year Warranty in California. If it fails on the 11th Year, then you'll have to pony up another $2,800 to replace the battery pack. In this case all your gasoline savings vanish in thin air. In comparison, I drove the Ford Fusion Hybrid and was impressed how solid and steady it felt on the freeway. It drove no differrent than any other regular car. The colorful dashboard display feedback is much more useful than what you see in the PRIUS. I was unwilling to pay over 28K for the FUSION to get around 34mpg. The PRIUS II is a basic imperfect transportation vehicle with the bare necessities. Purchasing the higher Package levels from $26k to $35K would be a waste of money in my opinion. Compared to a manual five speed transmission vehicle, the PRIUS is not a fun vehicle to drive. The car is in charge , The computer decides how the hybrid system functions. You won't see an RPM meter and you won't even see the coolant temperature gage. So I guess I won't know if it is overheating until the computer decides to shut down the engine. Hello AAA !!
2012 Prius Reviews
Showing 8 of 498 reviews.
My Prius has travelled166,000 miles and still runs great without using any oil. It has no leaks or rattles. I've never replaced a single bulb and the brakes are still 50%! It's never had any mechanical problems or needed any repair!!! The only complaints are uncomfortable seats and a noisy interior. Otherwise it is a phenomenal car that still gets 48-52 MPH on the original hybrid battery.
This 2014 Prius Four has many state of the art features which make it a bargain hunt for anyone looking to buy an older but still elegant car; like rear view mirrors, leather seats with front ones heated, Bluetooth, etc. In spite of its over 200k miles, it is well- maintained at the Toyota dealership, hence should give up to 100k miles more before any major overhaul.
I bought a 2015 prius near the end of 2020. I had found out my car had a head gasket issue and no moms car was having some issues which made it not reliable. A lot of things were going on and I needed a absolute rock solid reliable car that would give no issues. A lot to ask for I know. I had $2000 cash and normally I would only buy a cash car be cause i do not like car notes. However I needed something right then to get me to work and I had a single day to get things settled. Looking on line at the local dealers I found a small car place that had 2 prius. a 2008 and a 2015. the 2008 had 160k miles and the 2015 had 115k. I liked the style of the 2008 but i was worried about potential issues for a bit older car. After testing the 2015 I bought it with a down payment of $2000 that I had. my credit was really good but this was a place that had their own financing. The terms were 17% for 3 years. The note was about $330 a month. yes not the best terms but I did not plan on having the loan the full term and it got me in the car right then. One of the things that was very very help full was my brother worked at the same place and we were driving in together. His shift was starting much earlier than mine and he was having to wait for me to get off. At first mom took him in and then I would drive to work. Then he would wait for me. We did that till he got his own car and drove to work. At one point his car broke down and he had to save up money for repair. So i went in really early at 430 and my shift started at 10. A good portion of my sleep was in the car and a good portion of his sleep was in the car also. The climate control was invaluable. It would be 5 degrees or 85 degrees and we were completely comfortable snoozing away. Our phones and tablets always had energy to charge. This went on for about 2 months till he got the money to fix his car. I got really good sleep in the car with a face mask to block light. After about a year and a half I paid the car off and was payment free once again. We have had some other issues at times were we had to do this but always the car delivered. I even took a long trip and the back seats folded down and held all our stuff. with 50 mpg every day of the trip. The only repairs I have had was 1 tire blew then 2 weeks later it blew again. Not sure why. about 2 years later the brakes were starting to ware and I replaced them. However there was a issue with one of the calipers that then damaged the roter and new brake. I replaced those. I also after 4 years replaced all 4 tires for about $325. And just recently had to replace the 12 volt battery. I also tinted my windows which was something I always wanted to do. I am having to replace the front window because a rock flew and hit it and now I have a nice round damage in the window. In 4 years I have put about 75k miles on the car and still running great. I am looking in to some maintenance that is suggested for prius. Pet peeves that I don't like? i don't care for the thing that the gear shift sits in that runs between the two seats. It makes the area feel small. I wish there was a usb charging plug on the left side for people that have their phones mounted on the left to charge. The small window on the left makes a excellent mount spot for a phone holder that doesn't block the window covers to keep the heat out.
Ga$$$ $aver
Not that slow, it depends who’s driving.
I love this car for its simplicity. Saves me tons of ga$$$ every drive. It still has its original hybrid and accessory battery, planning to change the 12 volts because my son will be driving it now. Would I change the hybrid battery? Yes. Why not?! Original brakes still, I just change the fluids whenever it is required. Overall, this is toyota. They are known for being superior with hybrid cars. Now I have 2 other Toyota hybrid cars which I love. You cannot go wrong with Prius.
I bought this car in 2014 . This is the best car I've ever had. This car is so reliable great on gas. I've had this car not for 10 years now, and it's has never given me any problems. I am hooked on Toyota for life
Reliability and value
Could be a smoother ride
The ride may be a bit rough and there are certainly a couple of inconvenient blind spots but this thing has been a solid and reliable ride for me for over ten years now. Maintenance has been minimal. Gas mileage is fantastic. And it's got a fair amount of room in the back for the dog, groceries, or even moving furniture. I heart this ride
Very reliable, great MPG
Not very comfy and it's ugly
I have the Prius II. I drive A LOT for work, city and highway. I'm up to about 197,000 miles and have not had any issues with this car. All I've had to do are basic maintenance items. The battery is still going strong. Mpg varies between 47-51 in my experience. I will say that the car isn't super comfy and there are blind spots. Personally, not being comfy is kind of a good thing so I don't fall asleep on the road!
Excellent mpg
Low visibility
An excellent vehicle that gives years of service with minimal upkeep. They hold their value, give excellent mileage and low maintenance costs.
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